Talking to reporters at the circuit house in Varanasi after a meeting with district officials, Yadav called Verma an opium dealer and a hasish addict. Verma’s hometown Barabanki is a centre of poppy cultivation and opium production.

The district is also known for opium smuggling.

Yadav’s salvo comes on the heels of Verma’s latest attack on the SP. The party would win only four seats in the next Lok Sabha polls which will be its “funeral procession”, Verma had said on Friday.

It was also Verma who had started the row, alleging SP chief Mulyam Singh Yadav had “terrorist links”. He had later expressed regret for his remarks after being ticked off by the Congress leadership.

But while Mulyam has maintained calm following the apology, Yadav — his brother and state PWD minister — lost his cool.